Professional Experience

Mediator

2012 to present. First appointed as a federal court mediator in 1999, Mark's nationwide ADR practice today includes state and federal actions involving:

  • Complex commercial matters, including antitrust, unfair competition, and contract disputes
  • Intellectual property, including trade secrets, patents, trademarks, and copyrights
  • Consumer class actions
  • Public entity complex disputes
  • Employment class, PAGA, and individual actions
  • Insurance coverage and indemnification disputes
  • Business acquisition and dissolution disputes
  • Professional liability involving attorneys, accountants, brokers, and architects

Mark's work as a mediator has earned him repeated national recognition among the Best Lawyers in America for Mediation by U.S. News - Best Lawyers®, and he was also voted 2024 and 2022 Mediator of the Year for the San Francisco area.

Arbitrator / Special Master

Mark also serves as an arbitrator or appointed special master for any of these types of disputes.

Ross Stores, Inc.

Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Pleasanton, California, 2007 to 2012. Ross is an S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 company and the second largest off-price retailer in the United States. As Ross's general counsel, Mark:

  • Managed all major litigation, including class and individual employment, intellectual property, privacy, and contract litigation, as well as government investigations and enforcement proceedings
  • Established a company-wide early dispute resolution program to accelerate disposition of all civil cases
  • Created new intellectual property protection programs to acquire and maintain key IP assets and pursue enforcement actions as needed

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc. / Nestlé, S.A.

Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Oakland, California, 2000 to 2007. Dreyer's, later acquired by Nestlé, S.A., was the largest U.S. manufacturer and distributor of ice cream products and a Fortune 1000 public company. As its general counsel, Mark:

  • Managed all of Dreyer's employment, contract, intellectual property, and commercial litigation
  • Managed the defense and resolution of the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust challenge to the Dreyer's / Nestlé merger
  • Negotiated multiple acquisitions of other brand, manufacturing, and franchise businesses, as well as patents, trademarks, and other technology rights
  • Trained Nestlé's international legal team on litigation management and dispute resolution

Freeland, Cooper, LeHocky & Hamburg

Principal, San Francisco, California, 1987 to 2000. Mark managed the complex litigation practice of this boutique law firm, prosecuting and defending intellectual property, employment, antitrust, commercial, and class action disputes, representing clients including Apple, AT&T, Dreyer's, and Met Life.

Prior to the Freeland law firm, Mark honed his litigation skills at two other San Francisco law firms: Wilson, Ryan & Campilongo, and Khourie, Crew & Jaeger, formerly Broad, Khourie & Schulze.

Education

Mark obtained his legal degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Reported Decisions

  • Lambtek Yogurt Machines v. Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc.; Trade Cases (CCH) 71,891 (N.D. Cal. 1997)
  • Legal Economics, Inc. v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 39 F. 2d 951 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 115 S. Ct. 1420 (1995)
  • Weil Ins. Agency v. Manufacturers Life Co. 815 F. Supp. 1320 (N.D. Cal. 1993)
  • Clipper Express v. RMMTB, 690 F. 2d 1240 (9th Cir. 1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1227
  • JBL Enterprises v. Jhirmack Enterprises, Inc., 509 F. Supp. 357 (N.D. Cal.), aff'd, 698 F. 2d 1011 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 829 (1983)
  • Determined Productions v. Dakin & Co., 514 F. Supp. 645 (N.D. Cal. 1980)

ADR Affiliations

  • Appointed mediator for the United States District Court, Northern District of California, 1999 to 2023
  • Co-chair, Mediation Committee, ABA Dispute Resolution Section, 2017 to 2019
  • Vice-Chair, ADR-Arbitration Committee, Bar Association of San Francisco, 2016 to present
  • Chair, ADR Section, Contra Costa Bar Association, 2018 to 2019

Community / Teaching Activities

  • Adjunct Faculty, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, 2020 to present
  • Judge Pro Tem, San Francisco Superior Court, 2016 to 2023
  • Adjunct Faculty, University of California, Berkeley Haas Graduate School of Business, 2018 to 2020
  • Lecturer, Mediation Advocacy, University of California, Davis School of Law, 2015 to 2016
  • Board of Directors, Contra Costa County Bar Association, 2020
  • Varsity Women's Tennis Coach, Miramonte High School, Orinda, California, 2009 and 2010
  • President, Orinda Youth Association, 2002 to 2005

Personal

Mark spends his free time playing tennis, cycling, painting, traveling, and coping with the family pets.